Not far from the ancient capital of Memphis (near Cairo) the river
divided into seven branches -- only two of which are left today --
that irrigated the alluvial lands of the Delta. The valley measures
more than 800 km from Aswan on the southern border to the Delta.
In Upper Egypt it is bounded to the east and west by barren moun-
tains; in Lower Egypt it is broader and has flat sandy desert on both
banks.

With the rising of the river, the so-called swelling of the Nile, which
commences each year in July, the land is inundated for three months,
leaving a fertile deposit of mud brought downstream from the heart
of Africa, where the river has its source. After the flood-waters have
receded there follows, in the middle of November, the period of the
sowing of the crops. The harvest is gathered in April and May.
In Egypt there is very little rainfall, and the importance of the Nile
flood can be judged from the accounts of drought and famine when-
ever the river failed to reach the normal level. This was why, already
in early times, the Egyptians used the nilometer to measure the
water level. ¹

The fertility of the soil made possible the development of settled
communities. The inhabitants of the Nile valley joined together in
common toil so that they might enjoy the fruits of nature.
The flood-waters were carried inland by means of canals, thus making
the soil fertile in areas that were not affected by the flood. Dams
were built to prevent the water flowing away.

In order to irrigate fields situated at a higher level a simple im-
plement was invented which is still known in Egypt today. It is called
a shaduf, and consists of a lever pivoted between two uprights. The
shorter lever arm has a weight in the form of a lump of clay, while
on the end of the longer lever arm there is a piece of rope, from
which hangs a bucket made of skin or plaited material. The bucket
is filled with water from the river by lowering the longer lever arm.
When it is raised the bucket empties into furrows dug between the
fields.

The fact that the fields had to be surveyed afresh after each flooding,
which effaced the boundaries, soon led to the establishment of a
powerful political authority and a clearly-formulated pattern of
social organization. It is no accident that 'stretching ropes' and 'hoe-
ing the soil' are among the activities depicted on the oldest mon-
uments. In the earliest times these were the responsibility of the king.
The nomadic hunters who settled on the banks of the Nile became

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